Click to enlarge these first looks at the new-look 508 Park Avenue. You'll find more, many more, below.

​Amongst all the maybes, could-bes and one-days downtown, one development's as close as it gets to a Sure Thing: 508 Park Avenue, which First Presbyterian is in the process of turning into The Museum of Street Culture to be curated by blues historian Alan Govenar. At this very moment, in fact, reps from First Presby and Good Fulton & Farrell are at Dallas City Hall presenting to the Landmark Commission's Central Business District/West End Task Force the pages of plans you will find below, which include your very first look at the rooftop deck and next-door amphitheater, which Landmark signed off on last year.

First Presbyterian found this never-before-seen photo of 508 Park as it looked in '46 in the Jack Warner Collection at USC.

​There are actually three presentations below -- for 508 Park, 1900 Young (which will be razed and replaced by the outdoor concert site) and 1905 Canton, the latter of which is presently a fenced-off patch of weeds. Jon Rollins at GFF, who will make the presentation to Landmark, says there have been some tweaks since last we spoke about the project -- such as the addition of solar panels and rain-water storage units on Canton and restrooms to the amphitheater site, as well as WPA-style murals on the exterior of the site where Robert Johnson and Bob Wills once recorded. "So we'll start to tell the story of the building on the outside of the building," he says, "before you even step foot into 508 Park."

As for the rooftop deck and that dance floor and the new elevator, he says: "The church all along has wanted to occupy the roof, which has a wonderful view of the downtown skyline. 508, when it's reused, will be all about spaces for public gathering, arts groups and the connection between the public and the private. It'll create a space for people to gather and listen to music, which seemed like a natural program, and to be able to do that we needed to make sure it was accessible for the mobility impaired. And we needed to provide shade so people could use it in the summer, and the rail is for safety. But because it's historic, it's important for us not to disturb how the building meets the sky, which is why were using glass."

Rollins says 1900 Young will begin coming down sometime before the end of April, when their certificate of demolition expires; there's some abatement that must take place first in both existing buildings.

Now, on a related note: Carol Adams at First Presby also directs our attention to the just-updated-and-revised 508 Park Ave. website, which offers more history about former Warner Bros. movie storage facility -- including the photo you see above, recently discovered in USC's Cinematic Arts Library. (Who knew there were windows on the side presently devoured by 1900 Young?) She promises more from the archives soon. Till then, the future awaits below ...More >>

Photo by Harry Bennett, via eBay seller "ericdatz"

​A couple of years back we virtually toured the Mercantile Bank Building as it looked following its 1958 redo, when Heritage Auctions made available 17 never-before-seen photos of R.L. Thornton's skyscraper taken by legendary Chicago-based architectural-photo firm Hedrich Blessing. Those photos, offered in a single package initially guesstimated to be worth several thousand, never did sell (thought for sure Forest City would have snapped 'em up). Only recently, on behalf of a still-interested Friend of Unfair Park, I asked Heritage's PR man Noah Fleisher is the seller was still interested in parting with the pictures. He said he'd look into it.

Photo by William Langley, via eBay seller "ericdatz"

​Then, a couple of days back, Friend of Unfair Park PeterK dispatched me a trio of photos taken inside the mighty Merc in the 1940s, not long after it was finished in '43. Back then, of course, it was a significant structure for myriad reasons: It counted among its architects Walter W. Ahlschlager, famous for his work in Chicago and New York City. It was, by all accounts, the sole significant skyscraper built in the U.S. during World War II. And it was, till '54, the tallest building in the city.

Turns out there are far more than three photos of the Merc being sold on eBay: A seller in San Diego is sitting on a dozen, each still sitting a mere $9.99 with four days left, all but one taken by William Langley, whose own career appears to span the rough-n-tumble days of the Dallas Dispatch to the Texas Centennial Exposition in '36 (where he rounded up "beautiful bevies") to an ad assignment so unusual (at the time, at least) it landed him in Life magazine in 1959. (And Langley, intriguingly, mentored a young Jeff Kimball, who would go on to become the cinematographer responsible for the look of Top Gun, among other familiar titles.)

I'd begin the tour here. Then, in no particular order: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and, finally, here. Interestingly, the last photo -- the only one with actual people in it -- wasn't taken by Langley. At least, it's not credited to him. Rather, says the seller, the back of the photo is stamped: "HARRY BENNETT - 2108 McKinney - Dallas, Texas Phone 7-4906."

Photo by Justin Terveen

​Like I need to tell you, even if there were no photo credit, this is a Justin Terveen photo -- one in a series of extraordinary photos of the rain-soaked city he's taken in the past 24 hours. This one was taken earlier this evening, just west of the Houston Street Viaduct: "dead-smack center in between Houston and 30," he says.

Justin's still out and about, making the city look stunning in the reflection of the Trinity River. He's moved to Sylvan now, then ... who knows where. "It's too good to pass up," he says. "The water's flat and glassy, with a nice reflection." More to come, he vows. "But nothing like what you see here." As always, the big'n is here, suitable for framing.

Photos by Justin Terveen

​The sign still says "Articles," but I'll always remember the three-story storefront on Elm and Good-Latimer as Chumley's, located at the acoustic end of Deep Ellum on the heels of Charles Francis "Chumley" Hawkins's late, great Dave's Art Pawn Shop. Everyone played there, from Aimee Mann to Cafe Noir, Lisa Loeb to Rhett Miller, all on their way up. Before that, long ago, that spot had accommodated everything from a lumberyard to a loan-maker to a paint-and-paper company.

Last I looked there was talk of it becoming an ultra-lounge; that didn't pan out. Westdale's been trying to lease the valued-at-$320,000 building ever since. But now, it's sans roof: Justin Terveen was out in the deluge last night, of course, and was there when Dallas Fire-Rescue answered the call. Wrote Justin in the note that arrived in the in-box during the wee small hours of the morning: "Place is thrashed."More >>

Photo by Justin Terveen

​Speaking of energizing downtown Dallas ....

The storms that moved through, oh, an hour ago are but a prelude of the downpour to come. And if there's electricity in the air, Justin Terveen's there to catch it, as always. He just sent this freshly minted postcard, along with the note that there's a bigger, better, badder version suitable for framing here.

eBay seller "historicimages05"

Nell Owen

​Amidst all the ruckus over the Dallas Independent School District board's more-than-likely decision to close James B. Bonham Elementary, one thing's been overlooked: Its storied past as The School Where The Prettiest U.S. School Teacher once taught. That's a certifiable fact: In December 1952 speech teacher Nell Owen was named "Prettiest U.S. School Teacher" in a contest sponsored by CBS and announced during the prime-time radio broadcast of Our Miss Brooks on December 21, 1952 (during the "Magic Christmas Tree" episode, to be specific, which you can listen to here sans the hullabaloo). Why, she even made it onto the cover of Life magazine, where she was the subject of a lengthy and flattering profile that described her "as durable as she is fetching."

I didn't know anything about this forgotten footnote till Friend of Unfair Park PeterK dispatched the heads-up that there's an original United Press photo of Owen for sale on eBay. No one has yet submitted a bid with five hours left; it's all of $9.99. And because that's what we do -- Peter especially, his having logged many hours as a researcher at the Dallas Public Library years ago -- we discovered there's more, much more, to her tale. For instance ...More >>

When I directed your attention to those pretty pictures filling City Hall's 2012 calendar yesterday, I forgot to note: Those are the latest top-prize-getters in the third annual Trinity River Corridor Project Photo Contest. Tops, again, was the great Sean Fitzgerald, winner of the second annual contest. That's his work decorating December. Should have mentioned that yesterday.

Anyway: I see the city's posted a video of all the many contenders -- some 700 pictures were entered, out of which 621 appear to have been of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge -- and those who judged them, including our old friend Allison Smith.

Photo by Roy Addis, courtesy Ron Hart

​Whilst doing some housekeeping before heading out for the new year, I came across this gift you see above. It was dispatched by our new friend Ron Hart, the Atlanta photographer who earlier this month was kind enough to send us that never-before-seen color photo of the giant Santa who briefly sat atop Porter Chevrolet on Mockingbird, along with those two photos of Big Tex taken during separate visits to the State Fair of Texas in the mid-1950s.

This photo, like the others, comes from the camera of Roy Addis, a Tucker, Georgia, resident who traveled the country and preserved his memories on Kodachrome transparencies locked away in a box and forgotten till Hart began sifting through the memories. This particular one, Ron writes, was labeled: "'Freddy' the Friendly Ford Tractor at TX State Fair, Dallas Tex. 1/50 f6 10 ft. 10/12/54." Nothing friendly about it. But it does give me an idea for a Christine sequel.

Photos by Dylan Hollingsworth

​Late yesterday, friend of the show and Observer contributor Dylan Hollingsworth posted to Facebook the photo you see above; a second followed a little later, and it's after the jump. He offered no explanation for either, only a title: "Oh, Christmas Tree." And the date: December 2011.

But the site of the shot looked familiar. I asked Dylan if it was taken in the shadow of Medieval Times on Stemmons, just across the freeway from Unfair Park HQ. It was, he said, just yesterday. (The photo after the jump, of course, clearly identifies the site of the shoot.)

Friends of Unfair Park may recall: Back in June 2010 Patrick Michels met and spent a long while with Rusty Shotwell, who, at that time, had lived in the drainage tunnel for some three years. Justin Timberlake's favorite photographer confirms: It was Rusty who put out the Christmas tree.More >>

eBay seller "vintagephotos2010"

​Whilst perusing the eBay for some gifts on this here first day of Hanukkah, I came across the portrait you see above -- significant for two reasons, I should think. First, of course, is the subject: Dick Burnett, for whom the late, great Burnett Field was named. As I've noted, often and then even oftener, Burnett's the man who bought the Dallas Steers from George Schepps in '48 and renamed the baseball club the Dallas Eagles, who were briefly a New York Giants' farm club. This photo is perhaps the finest I've ever seen of Burnett; it dates back to '53, when his club won the Texas League.

And you'll note: It bears the familiar Gittings stamp. Which sent me back to this 1983 profile of Paul Gittings written for Texas Monthly by the great Nicholas Lemann, who noted: "Gittings portraits perfectly fit the Texas that they collectively portray: newly urban, newly rich, a place with sophistication fully in mind as a goal but not yet fully achieved."

The photo, incidentally, comes from the Sporting News archives, and it's a one-of-a-kind that will disappear into someone else's hands if'n you don't act fast. It's all of $9.98. There's another great photo of Burnett for sale here, also from the SN files, featuring his grandson decked out in the cutest Eagles outfit ever.